The all-time Spring Training Pittsburgh Pirates team

Let's put together the best line-up based on performance by Pittsburgh Pirates' players in Spring Training.

In Spring Training, the unlikeliest of players can go off. It’s such a small sample size where players aren’t facing the highest caliber of competition, and with the main priority being getting ready for an entire season ahead, working on new mechanics, or getting old ones stretched out again, and with winning as a secondary goal, anything can happen. Like all MLB teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had their fair share of players who have had great Spring Training, regardless of how they did in the regular season.

Today, I want to make a line-up based on recent players in the Pirates’ history who had great Spring Training numbers. The bare minimum amount of playing time each of these players had was at least 50 plate appearances. For a full leaderboard of Spring Training stats, FanGraphs has a helpful and sortable leaderboard here, but keep in mind stats only date back to 2006.

Catcher
Ronny Paulino

Ronny Paulino was a catcher for the Bucs from 2005 through 2008. He’s a one-hit wonder in the team’s history, as in 2006, he hit .310 with a .754 OPS, 10 defensive runs saved, and a 36 percent caught-stealing percentage. But while that would be the only good season, he was a great hitter during Spring Training.

Paulino had 118 plate appearances in spring, batting .376/.424/.578 with a .439 wOBA and 162 wRC+. While Paulino only had a 6.8 percent walk rate, he rarely struck out with a 16.8 percent strikeout rate. Power was never Paulino’s calling card, but he had a respectable .202 isolated slugging percentage.

Among Pirates catchers in Spring Training, Paulino has the highest batting average by a Grand Canyon-sized margin of 74 points. He also has the highest OBP by 20 points and the highest wOBA by 13 points. Francisco Cervelli, however, outdoes him in wRC+, but by just two percent, as he sits at 162.

Honorable mentions: Francisco Cervelli, Tony Sanchez

First base
Lyle Overbay

The Pirates signed veteran first baseman Lyle Overbay in the 2010-2011 off-season in what ended up being another horse on a carousel of first basemen the Pirates have had since Kevin Young. Overbay had some quality seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks. In his three prior seasons to 2011, he batted .259/.352/.437 with a 110 wRC+. But with the Pirates, Overbay was just a .227/.300/.349 slasher 83 wRC+.

But during that Spring, Overbay hit .368/.422/.649 with a .453 wOBA and 175 wRC+ in 65 plate appearances. He owned a solid 9.2 percent walk rate and 18.5 percent strikeout rate. However, he hit for an immense amount of power. Overbay had four home runs and a .281 isolated slugging percentage.

Overbay was one of the best Spring Training hitters in 2011. He ranked in the top 30 in wRC+, wOBA, slugging percentage, and OPS. No other Pirates’ 1B has put up a higher wOA, wRC+, or OPS either. Some have come close but have all fallen short of Overbay’s 2011 performance.

Honorable mention: Gaby Sanchez

Second base
Luis Rivas

Luis Rivas was a speedy light-hitting middle infielder for the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians from 2000 through 2007, batting .262/.307/.385 with a .302 wOBA and 79 wRC+. Rivas was a member of the 2008 Pirates but had a career-worst season with the bat, hitting .218/.267/.311 with a 51 wRC+.

During that Spring, however, Rivas looked like Tony Gwynn 2.0. Rivas hit .368/.455/.544 with a .441 wOBA, and 162 wRC+. Rivas only managed a .175 isolated slugging percentage. But he walked (13.4 percent) over twice as often as he struck out (six percent) in 67 plate appearances. He still remains the only Pirates’ Spring Training hitter with a BB:K ratio over 2.00.

But that’s mostly true for the rest of MLB. There have only been 110 instances of a player having a 2.00+ BB:K ratio in 50+ plate appearances in a Spring Training season. Rivas leads all Pirates’ Spring Training hitters in batting average, OBP, and wOBA and is tied with Adam Frazier in wRC+.

Honorable mentions: Adam Frazier, Delwyn Young, Jose Castillo

Third Base
Ke’Bryan Hayes

We finally get to a somewhat household name in Pirates’ history in Ke’Bryan Hayes. The most recent Gold Glove winner, and the one to stop Nolan Arenado’s rein on the position, Hayes finally broke out with the bat last year, hitting .271/.309/.453 with a .324 wOBA, and 101 wRC+. But Hayes has always been a great Spring Training hitter.

He has 219 plate appearances where he has batted .374/.402/.684. Although he rarely draws a walk with a five percent walk rate, he also has an outstanding 14.6 percent strikeout rate. For someone who only started to hit for power last year after making adjustments, he has a .311 isolated slugging percentage as a Spring Training batter. Overall, he has a .454 wOBA and 179 wRC+. Keep in mind, these are still counting as Hayes has had an outstanding 2024 Spring Training.

Since Hayes made his spring debut in 2018, he is one of just 54 players with an isolated slugging percentage above .300 in MLB. Only six other third basemen have reached that mark as well. The only third baseman with a that has a higher wRC+ is Colton Welker, though both are tied in wOBA at .454 for the highest water mark.

Honorable mentions: Phillip Evans, David Freese, Casey McGehee

Shortstop
Kevin Newman

Kevin Newman was a middle infielder for the Pirates from 2018 through 2022, batting .260/.303/.357 with a .286 wOBA and 76 wRC+. Although he had a strong rookie campaign in 2019, Newman was statistically the worst hitter in baseball from 2020 to 2021. He did rebound to a degree in 2022, but he was dealt that off-season to the Cincinnati Reds for reliever Dauri Moreta. He is currently in Spring Training with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Newman’s Spring Training numbers, however, were excellent. He batted .343/.378/.481 with a .370 wOBA, and 125 wRC+ in 196 plate appearances. He struck out just 10.7 percent of the time, but drew a walk in 5.1 percent of his plate appearances. Newman’s .138 isolated slugging percentage is below average, but dwarfs his Major League average of just .098.

One Spring Training performance no one will ever forget was in 2021 when he hit .606 with no strikeouts and five walks in 39 plate appearances. Quite literally, no other player since 2006 has ever had that high of a batting average in as many Spring Training plate appearances.

Honorable mentions: Gift Ngoepe, Brian Bixler, Cole Tucker

Left Field
Felix Pie

Felix Pie was a former top prospect for the Chicago Cubs. Pie played in parts of six MLB seasons with the Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and Pirates, hitting .246/.295/.369 with a 73 wRC+. Pie was signed by the Pirates in the 2012-2013 off-season and would appear in 27 games and receive 31 plate appearances and have four hits, 13 K’s, and two walks.

But Pie looked like the former top prospect many were hoping he could become in Spring. He slashed .318/.423/.568 with a higher walk rate (13.2 percent) than strikeout rate (11.3 percent). Pie hit for some pop with a .250 isolated slugging percentage as well. With his outstanding BB:K ratio, power output, and batting well over .300, Pie finished the 2013 Preseason with a .425 wOBA and 155 wRC+.

Pie was one of the best hitters on the Pirates during March 2013. He posted a better wRC+ than Andrew McCutchen by 52 percent. He had a higher OPS than Starling Marte by 150 points. Gaby Sanchez was the only hitter better than Pie, with a better OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ than the former outfield prospect.

Honorable mentions: Michael Ryan, Corey Dickerson

Center Field
Austin Meadows

Austin Meadows was a first-round pick by the Pirates in 2013, who debuted in 2018, but was subsequently traded the same season for Chris Archer in an ill-fated deal. Meadows is a career .259/.333/.472 slasher with a 119 wRC+. Meadows’ last three seasons have been marred by inconsistent performance, injuries, and a bout with mental health issues. He is currently a free agent.

But Meadows once looked like the Pirates’ center fielder of the future, both in the minor leagues and Spring Training. Meadows has 83 plate appearances with the Pirates in the Preseason, batting .315/.398/.578. His numbers are similar to Pie’s, with a nearly identical .412 wOBA and 152 wRC+. But Meadows didn’t have a great strikeout rate of 25.3 percent and a worse 10.8 percent walk rate.

Meadows currently has a higher wRC+ in Spring Training than Andrew McCutchen (135), Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte (133), and Nate McLouth (129). He also has the 26th-best ISO among any Pirates player in Spring Training. Dating back to 2006, he is a top 15 batter in the Preseason for the Pirates (min. 50 PAs).

Honorable mentions: Travis Swaggerty, Jeff Salazar, Andrew McCutchen

Designated Hitter
Matt Hague

Matt Hague is an all-time Pirates Spring Training legend. The corner infielder only appeared in parts of three MLB seasons from 2012 and 2014 to 2015. He has less than 100 MLB plate appearances to his name (91 to be exact) and a .226/.286/.262 career triple-slash and 53 wRC+. 30 of those games and 74 of the plate appearances were with the Pirates in 2012.

Hage has nearly as many Spring Training plate appearances with the Pirates as MLB PAs he has in his entire career. But in that time, he hit .370/.383/.630 with a .434 wOBA and 167 wRC+. Hage had a .261 isolated slugging percentage and seven home runs. He was basically allergic to drawing walks with a 1.1 percent walk rate but also had a sub-10 percent strikeout rate at 9.6 percent.

Lyle Overbay is the only Pirates’ first baseman with a higher batting average, slugging percentage, and wRC+. All seven of Hague’s home runs were in 2012. He was tied for the most in baseball that preseason alongside Freddie Freeman. He was also one of 12 batters to hit over .400 that Spring Training.

Honorable mentions: Matt Joyce